Cornell University in Qatar

[blubber]

Has anyone thought about applying to Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar? http://www.qatar-med.cornell.edu/

 

The inaugural class is graduating this year. Apparently they matched to competitive residency programs in the US.

 

http://www.med.cornell.edu/deans/2008/03_24_08/article_01-03_24.shtml

 

- Interest-free need-based financial assistance covering upto 100% of the tuition costs and living expenses.

 

- Cornell Faculty and exactly the same curriculum as in New York.

 

- Research grants available for research in Ithaca, NY and NY, NY.

 

- Receive the exact same degree as students in New York except that you are considered an FMG as this branch is outside US and Canada.

 

- Small Class size < 30 students

 

- Sub-internships and electives can be done at Cornell affiliated hospitals (New York Presbyterian, & Hospital for Special Surgery)

 

- Situated in the Education City Campus in Doha with other top tier American Universities.

 

Cornell - Medicine

Texas A&M - Engineering

Carnegie Mellon - Business

Georgetown - Foreign Service

Northwestern - Journalism

Virginia Commonwealth - Arts

 

University of Calgary will be opening a nursing school soon.

 

- The Weill Cornell Medical College and its new research hospital have an $8 Billion endowment.

[THX]

Hm, that is interesting. However, I don't think I would like to travel to Doha for an interview ... I also think the culture shock (for me) would be too great.

[solocup]

Cornell started the Qatar campus when I was an undergrad in Ithaca. Basically, they provided Cornell with a huge donation, adopted the Cornell curriculum and hired some Cornell professors to teach there. But it's really a pale imitation of the real thing. I guess if anyone donates enough money, it's possible to buy a brand name. Good marketing strategy.

 

As an anglophone Canadian and a hockey fan, you can't pay me to study there.

[blubber]

The inaugural class of 16 has matched:

 

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March08/q.matchday.lg.html

 

"The newly matched students are a diverse group, with chosen specialties that include family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, neurosurgery and anesthesiology."

[blubber]

Just released issue of Cornell Chronicle featuring WCMC-Q

 

http://www.news.cornell.edu/features/magazine/Qatar_mag_Eng.pdf

[blubber]

Weill Cornell - Qatar convocation:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/May08/QatarConvo.bs.html

 

"a gala convocation, which featured remarks from the Emir of Qatar, the awarding of luxury class rings and a concert by famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The students joined 107 other graduates of Education City's Class of 2008."

 

"guests entered the courtyard to the strains of London's Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra"

 

"The graduates then paraded across the stage to receive class rings designed by Britain's royal jewellers Asprey"

 

"the key to his nation's progress and its transition to a knowledge-based economy lies in education -- a system open to all regardless of gender, national origin or ability to pay"

 

"Class President Sharon King, for example, came away with eight awards, including honors for excellence in pediatrics, primary care and public health, as well as being honored for "humanism in medicine." The members of the Class of 2008 represent seven nations; King, an Oregon resident bound for a family medicine residency at the University of Wyoming, is one of three students born in the United States"

[blubber]

Johns Hopkins Hosp-MD

Surgery-Preliminary

 

U Minnesota Med School-MN

Neurosurgery

 

University of Michigan-MI

Research - Obstetrics/Gynecology

 

Rush University Med Ctr-IL

Anesthesiology

 

NYP Hosp-Weill Cornell Med Ctr-NY

Anesthesiology

 

NYP Hosp-Weill Cornell Med Ctr-NY

Internal Medicine

 

NYP Hosp-Columbia/Cornell

Emergency Medicine

 

NYP Hosp-Weill Cornell Med Ctr-NY

Obstetrics/Gynecology- Preliminary

 

Lahey Clinic-MA

General Surgery

 

Univ of Wyoming-Cheyenne-WY

Family Medicine

 

NY Hosp Med Ctr Queens-NY

General Surgery

 

Virginia Commonwealth University-VA

Internal Medicine

 

Hamad Medical Corporation-QA

Surgery

 

Hamad Medical Corporation-QA

Radiology

 

Hamad Medical Corporation-QA

Surgery

[Dayne67]

I hear that it's very difficult to get into Qatar Cornell Meds if you are not either a Qatari citizen or are enrolled in the Qatar Cornell premedical program. I actually know a fellow Canadian that got accepted. He said that the Dean told him that they only admit 1-2 external students every application cycle. He had very exceptional stats and CHOSE to study there as opposed to going there just as a last resort.

[koolman122]

Yuk - avoid it at all cost!

[flinfire]

i dont understand how would these graduates have an advantage over Caribbean graduates who do their electives in US and thus have a better chance of getting matched in good US hospitals

[Zuckman]

Flinfire, that just shows a profound lack of understanding of how matching occurs in the US. Name matters. Cornell university has enormous connections all over the US and they will do their utmost to help the students from this program match. Did you know that this school was close to getting LCME accreditation! It just didn't happen because this would've opened up a huge can of worms.

 

Some people think 'all IMGs are equal' for matching in the US. People who say this seriously have to do their research. It simply is not true. This school allows lots of clinical time in the US. Maybe not as much as the Caribbean, but someone who even compares this to the Caribbean is simply out of their mind. Program directors know how difficult it is to get into a Cornell MD program. Also, all the faculty are from Cornell. Program directors will take an application from this school VERY seriously.

 

Almost any IMG is better off than a Caribbean IMG, even though the Caribbean students have more clinical time in the US. Just look at the match list for SGU which is 30 years old and compare it to the first match of this class. No comparison.

[flinfire]

thas xactly why i posted, m new at this and trying to find some answers. too bad i missed the deadline for cornell

[Zuckman]

Cool! Lots of people on these forums will say 'don't go international'. However, most of these people haven't really researched the different international routes. These people just state things they've heard from other people. Some international schools cost far more than others. Some make it quite easy to do residency in the US (Israeli schools come to mind). With the majority of them, the competitive specialties will be much harder to get. However, this is not the case with Cornell Qatar.

 

Now more schools are opening up branch campuses in the middle east, so going to an international school such as Cornell Qatar can put you in a totally different situation compared to other international schools.

[xylem29]

The thing is - people don't start to think about international options unless they have no chance at home. Those that have a chance at Cornell Qatar would have a good chance at home also right?

 

So these schools aren't really opening up any options for the people that have to go to the Caribbean.

[Dayne67]

The type of applicant that would get into Cornell Qatar Meds would probably also get into schools here. I've heard that they only take like 2 external applicants every year. And they usually like to see that the applicant has some sort of connection to the Middle East.

 

However, the school is relatively easy to get into if you are in their premedical program. And you don't even have to be a Qatari citizen to get into the premedical program. So, if you are a high school student just about the to graduate, this could be a great option.

[Guest viscous]

The type of applicant that would get into Cornell Qatar Meds would probably also get into schools here. I've heard that they only take like 2 external applicants every year. And they usually like to see that the applicant has some sort of connection to the Middle East.

 

However, the school is relatively easy to get into if you are in their premedical program. And you don't even have to be a Qatari citizen to get into the premedical program. So, if you are a high school student just about the to graduate, this could be a great option.

 

I disagree. Applicants with 3.7ish gpa and >33 mcat (one section below Queens and Western cutoff) and good ECs have higher chance of getting into or at least interviewing US schools than Ontario schools. Not because of the number factor but because the US schools dont have hard cut-offs and will probably not screen applicants based on their gpa alone just like how UofT or UO does. UofT says that it takes a holistic approach but it has so many applicants with >3.9 (throw in the weighting formula that puts certain smart applicants at disadvantage who didnt take 5 credits first year only, due to their lack of knowledge of the med requirements for UofT but still pulled a decent high 3.7ish) that applicants with 3.7ish gpa who can become awesome doctors dont even get their file properly reviewed (they say that we review ALL files but who knows, everyone favors 3.9er over a 3.7er) unless they have like 5 publications.

[Alastriss]

The type of applicant that would get into Cornell Qatar Meds would probably also get into schools here. I've heard that they only take like 2 external applicants every year. And they usually like to see that the applicant has some sort of connection to the Middle East.

 

However, the school is relatively easy to get into if you are in their premedical program. And you don't even have to be a Qatari citizen to get into the premedical program. So, if you are a high school student just about the to graduate, this could be a great option.

 

wait wait, are you saying my arab heritage is now an advantage? SRSLY??

[Dayne67]

Alastriss, I didn't necessarily mean arab blood/heritage. Just meant someone who has had experience living in the middle east. From what I hear, there are plenty of non-Arab people (i.e. indians, pakistanis, persians, etc.) that are enrolled in Cornell Meds Qatar. But most of these students have lived in the middle east.

 

The school still does have a mandate....which is to produce physicians that are either likely to practice in Qatar or the middle east. And they strive to choose people that are familiar and comfortable with Middle east culture. Of course, your being Arab would definitely help in that regard.

 

And just to add diversity to their class, they do accept a couple of exceptional applicants that don't fit that mold.

[Excel-erate Your Breath]

Reviving an old, old, old thread here - to discuss this program from a 2021 perspective.

Crucially, it seems they have dropped something this thread mentions a couple of times, i.e. the school only being for those already in Qatar. It seems like they're really promoting this whole "come from America to here" vibe. Ex. a couple of their posted FAQs are to do with culture shock/adjusting to living in a primarily Muslim country - would not be FAQs if they were recruiting mainly Muslim Qataris. (Screenshot from their website is below)

Has anyone reading this rn heard anything about this program?

Reading through their website, it seems pretty legitimate; it's apparently the only overseas medical school to actually grant a US MD and to teach students in a way that has Step 1 preparation in mind.

They also actually require the MCAT (unlike a fair number of international schools), which was a plus in my book. But they have relatively low admissions stats (3.58 GPA and 505 MCAT) despite a high volume of applicants (7000+ for only 700 interview spots, let alone 106 actual seats in the program), which is odd and deterring.

Considering it because I have family in Doha. I would want to gain residency and practice in either the US or Canada, though.

 

 

[offmychestplease]

There are no shortcuts or backdoors to being a doctor in Canada.

You got rejected once....keep applying in Canada several more times like everyone else. There is an exorbitant number of cons to going abroad which can be researched in length. 

[Excel-erate Your Breath]

6 minutes ago, offmychestplease said:

There are no shortcuts or backdoors to being a doctor in Canada.

You got rejected once....keep applying in Canada several more times like everyone else. There is an exorbitant number of cons to going abroad which can be researched in length. 

Not sure if I'm misreading the tone of this, but no need to attack. Of course there are definitely cons, I never said that it is completely equal to being a Canadian med student. It is still my life, and if I don't want to apply again in Canada "like everyone else" (despite only being rejected once), that's my right.

Thanks for your input, I'm just exploring options. Nothing is off the table for me (including alternate careers) until I see sufficient evidence. Especially not going to automatically rule out something where I can go live with close family. Something like Caribbean, sure yes I can unequivocally say it's off the table

If you have such sufficient evidence to discredit this program to the same level that a Caribbean program may be discredited, then yeah please let me know.

[bearded frog]

It's still IMG, not USMD, but probably one of the better respected ones, ie might be better than Caribbean to try and match back to US. Equivalent to Ireland/Caribbean for Canadian residency, ie actual USMD would be better.

[Excel-erate Your Breath]

2 minutes ago, bearded frog said:

It's still IMG, not USMD, but probably one of the better respected ones, ie might be better than Caribbean to try and match back to US. Equivalent to Ireland/Caribbean for Canadian residency, ie actual USMD would be better.

Aha! There we go. Just the type of info I was looking for - it seemed like they really pushed this whole "youre a US MD grad" on their website. And of course if I can go to a "US" med school without needing to pay living expenses (which is the main reason I've discounted "normal" US MDs for now...it's just too much money with living expenses going on top of that as well, smh), that would be ideal. If I'd still be IMG then that puts it lower on the priority list by quite a bit

Thank you for the info!

[offmychestplease]

1 hour ago, Excel-erate Your Breath said:

Not sure if I'm misreading the tone of this, but no need to attack. Of course there are definitely cons, I never said that it is completely equal to being a Canadian med student. It is still my life, and if I don't want to apply again in Canada "like everyone else" (despite only being rejected once), that's my right.

Thanks for your input, I'm just exploring options. Nothing is off the table for me (including alternate careers) until I see sufficient evidence. Especially not going to automatically rule out something where I can go live with close family. Something like Caribbean, sure yes I can unequivocally say it's off the table

If you have such sufficient evidence to discredit this program to the same level that a Caribbean program may be discredited, then yeah please let me know.

ok

[Excel-erate Your Breath]

3 hours ago, offmychestplease said:

ok

.